Antique Diamond Cuts

Written
by Louise Newhamon 7 July 2014

There has been a recent revival in the desirability of old cuts of stones. Antique cuts such as cushion, asscher, rose and other antique varieties of a round cut are appearing in modern day jewellery inspired by the art deco era and continuing the ever popular vintage theme.

These cuts are being used in a variety of designs including clusters, where the central stone is surrounded by smaller diamonds or other gemstones like sapphires in antique style pavé setting or in solitaires with a beautiful understated vintage presence.

The asscher cut is a square emerald cut with the corners cut off. The facets are parallel to the girdle and are trapezoidal shaped. This gives the stone a glassy appearance and a more subtle sparkle even though it has the same number of facets as a brilliant cut, 58. The asscher cut went into limited production in the 1920s which meant that it was a particularly sought after stone and in 2001 the stone was re-launched after much research and development in modification of the facet pattern to give the stone more sparkle without losing its beautiful glassy antique quality.

The rose cut is a round cut with the facets forming a point on the domed top of the stone formed with either 12 or 24 facets. The bottom of the stone is flat. The rose cut was cut in this way because it was thought that having the facets on top of the stone would create the most sparkle. This cut of stone was popular from the 1500's to the 1900's but was replaced by the modern brilliant cut when diamond cutting became more sophisticated and more accurate cutting techniques were used.

The cushion cut, a modern variety of the old mine cut, is a cut which was very popular during the 19th century and the most common cut up until the early 20th century. Inspired by the mine cut, the cushion cut is square in shape with rounded corners, like a cushion! The modern cushion cut has 64 facets and tends to be quite deep. Like the asscher, the cushion cut has undergone some research and development to modernise the cut - increasing its sparkle - which has led to a resurgence in popularity for this antique cut. The modern day cushion cut is not as sparkly as a brilliant cut but it often shows better fire making it a very attractive choice for engagement rings.

We can work with your own vintage jewellery to create new pieces or we can source stones in different vintage cuts for your own bespoke commission.